The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a 2004 American-British traditionally animated film based on the novel by Kenneth Grahame, directed by D.A Nichols and Garrett Fredrickson and produced by Abbey Thickson and John Hambley. It focuses on four anthropomorphic animals in a pastoral version of Edwardian England. It is produced by Miramax Films, NT Animation, and Fredrickson Pictures and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Wind in the Willows was released to both the United States and United Kingdom on October 6th, 2004, it received positive reviews from critics and grossed $214.8 million. A CGI remake is scheduled for release on October 18, 2019. Plot TBA Cast * Frank Lagella as Mole * John Hurt as Rat * John Cleese as Mr. Toad * Richard Newman as Badger * Michael Cane as Otter * Daryl Sabara as Portly * Tom Baker as Chief Weasel * James Earl Jones as Pan * Kathleen Turner as The Jailer's Daughter * Bryn McAuley, Thomas Dekker, and Jaclyn Linetsky as the other Weasels Additional Voices * Jack Angel * Michael Bell * Jeff Bennett * Bob Bergen * Rodger Bumpass * Corey Burton * Jennifer Darling * Debi Derryberry * Paul Eiding * Jessica Evans * Bill Farmer * Brian George * Jess Harnell * David L. Lander * Sherry Lynn * Mickie McGowan * Rob Paulsen * Phil Proctor * Jan Rabson * Daryl Sabara * Evan Sabara * James Kevin Ward Production Fredrickson had well been familiar with the novel after reading it in his Reading class, and wondered if he would be able to make a film out of it when he got older. In 1995, when visiting England for a short while, he saw the HiT Entertainment adaptation and literally said to himself "You know what? I'll do it!". After returning to America, he presented the idea to D.A Nichols, who agreed to help produce the film, however, he left D.A Studios to form NT Animation, thus forcing the project to be moved to that company. To add to that, in 1996, Turner, the owners of Fredrickson Studios, were bought by Time Warner (now Warner Media), which in turn, caused Fredrickson to present the project to Warner Bros, while they agreed, they did mention that they already owned Rankin Bass' adaptation of the special. The film was announced in mid 1998, with a projected release date of 2000, however, that was dropped due to need of more financing and Miramax Films agreed to help co-finance the movie, this caused the movie to be pushed back to 2006 if funding didn't go through. Pre-production began in October 2003, and production began in 2004, which led to the movie being moved up to a 2004 release. The film was completed in September 2004 Release The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on September 22nd, 2004, and was released to both Britain and America on October 6th, 2004 Reception Box Office The film grossed $214.8 million with a budget of $25 million, making it fairly successful Critical Response The Wind in the Willows received positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 79% based on 102 reviews, the site's critical consensus reads "The Wind in the Willows boasts amazing animation and a script that is very close to the source material it is based on", on IMDB, the film has a score of 7.5/10. Home Media The Wind in the Willows was released on DVD on April 5th, 2005 in the UK, and a week later on April 12th, 2005 in the US. The film later had it's TV premiere on ABC in 2007 in the US and on BBC1 later that year. CGI remake Category:Warner Bros. Category:2004 Films Category:NT Animation Category:Films